


on thin ice

by candycolamorgan



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Forced Proximity, Hockey AU, Human AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:27:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candycolamorgan/pseuds/candycolamorgan
Summary: “So we’re decided? You’ll stay with me?”“Do I have any other choice?”“Well if you still want to try your luck with the local Norman Bates types, far be it from me to stop you.”“You accidentally grow a sense of humor up there in Canada, Klaus?” His responding laugh warmed something buried deep within her chest, and she followed him to the elevators, thinking the whole way that a psycho murderer would’ve been less trouble for her compared to the distracting sight of Klaus’ tight ass in those perfectly tailored dress pants.Fuck.





	on thin ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chicacherrylola](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicacherrylola/gifts).



There were two methods Caroline Forbes usually employed when she needed something, and they were charm and intimidation. She could count on one hand how many times they had failed her, and as she was currently engaged in the most epic staring contest with the front desk clerk, this was apparently one of those times.

When it was clear the man wasn’t going to give an inch, she let out a pitiful sigh, bracing herself to sink as low as possible.

Begging.

“Please, could you check it again?” she began pathetically. “I know it was booked at least three months ago under Salvatore. It’s only for two nights. I’m sure you hear this all the time, but I really need this. Don’t you have any emergency rooms that you keep available? I’ll pay whatever you want to charge me, please, I just need—”

“Caroline?”

Either she’d reached the hallucination level of jetlag, or the universe truly had a sick sense of humor if that voice actually belonged to _him_.

Praying it was the former, she turned and saw that it was of course the latter.

“Klaus?” she practically squawked, the odds of him of all people catching her in this pitiful moment too unbelievable for her to dwell on. “What are you—?”

She didn’t even bother finishing her question, the answer so painfully obvious when she noticed the Calgary Flames logo on his duffle bag. He was clearly in town for a game, and fitting in neatly with her extremely bad day, apparently staying at the same hotel. Wonderful. Perfect. Just the sort of awkward run-in every girl wanted to deal with after a hellish cross-country flight that had no doubt left her looking like it.

Her hand instinctively flew up to pat down any flyaways, the messy bun she’d piled on top of her head probably worse for wear after dealing with this reservation mix-up. This was a whole new level of incompetence for Stefan, and if she ended up on the street tonight because of it, he was really in for it when she got back to the office.

All very pressing thoughts that seemed to fade to a dull roar as she stood speechless in front of the last person she wanted to see.

 _God_ , he looked even better than the last time she’d seen him. Which was saying something since he’d been out of breath, lips swollen from where she couldn’t resist biting down with her teeth, and giving her the hottest smile she’d ever seen. So unlike the frown on his face right now.

She snapped out of the memory with a physical jerk, almost falling to her knees in gratitude when the receptionist started speaking again, giving her a reason to turn away.

“I’m very sorry ma’am, it does show that there was a reservation made under Salvatore,” her heart leapt with optimism that this horrible streak of bad luck was finally coming to and end. “But it was cancelled earlier this week.” And promptly fell back down to the pit of her stomach.

It went against every single fiber of her being to admit defeat, but with the creeping knowledge that Klaus was standing by watching this little scene, she knew it’d be fruitless to try any more of her tactics. No, it was best to untangle herself from this mess as quickly as possible and at least leave with what little dignity she had left.

She let out a tired sigh. “Okay, fine. Can you possibly put me in touch with any of your other hotels? Really, I’ll take anything.”

The pitying look he gave her made her jaw clench, but she restrained herself from letting loose the number of little digs that had been accumulating in the back of her mind.

“I’m not sure how useful that will be,” he started, clearly even more unsympathetic in light of the evidence of some careless scheduling on her side. “Everywhere is likely to have been booked solid because of the _Superbowl_.” His voice had taken on a decidedly condescending tone as if she were the most clueless idiot alive and not aware of the fact. As if it wasn’t her entire reason for being here in the first place as a sports journalist. “I’m sure you can imagine. Maybe you can try your luck on AirBnB?” The hint of that haughty little smirk suddenly made her furious, and she braced her elbows on the high counter, leaning over to give him a piece of her mind.

It was right on the tip of her tongue to do just that when a hand gripped her elbow, pulling her gently—but firmly—back down.

“Thank you, will you excuse us for a moment? I’m sure we can sort this out.” If she was just the tiniest bit more in control of the situation, she might not have let Klaus lead her away so easily, but everything was spiraling and if this was what fate was dealing her tonight, she might as well get it over with.

He pulled her into a quiet corner of the lobby where the activity of the people milling around seemed muted, and when he didn’t release his hold on her, her gaze fell pointedly to his hand.

“Sorry,” he muttered quickly, letting her go somewhat less so. Maybe even reluctantly? Her self-disgust grew tenfold at the fleeting thought. Did she _never_ learn? Reading into things always led to disappointment, and considering it was Klaus, she really should know better. The echoes of past hurt gave her the strength to power though. She might still feel confused by what happened between them, but there was no way in hell she was going to show it.

“What do you want, Klaus? I’m a little bit busy at the moment if you didn’t notice.”

“Good to see you, too,” he drawled sarcastically. When she crossed her arms and glared at him, he cleared his throat and adjusted the strap of his duffle bag restlessly. If she didn’t know any better, she might’ve thought he was acting awkward.

“So you’re in town for work?” Caroline blinked at the question, somewhat amazed that he was even attempting the small talk routine.

“Seriously? That’s what you’re going with after all this time? Asking about work?” The way his forehead knitted into one of those little frowns had long lost its power over her, and she had bigger problems to solve at the moment.

“Ugh, nevermind. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make some calls to see if any local axe murders have a spare room to rent.”

She was already turning to walk away when Klaus blurted out, “You can stay with me, if you want.”

“What?”

He looked almost as surprised as she did at his offer, but recovered quickly enough.

“I’ve got one of those suites, and I’ll be pretty busy, so if you wanted it…”

Caroline stood there, trying to puzzle out if he was being serious.

“Don’t you already have one roommate? I thought you guys bunked up on the road?” He grinned at her in a way that was so contagious she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from automatically responding in kind.

“The owner’s got a box for the game on Sunday, so some of us made plans to stay the weekend. Really, it’s no trouble, sweetheart.”

She eyed him warily, the tingling awareness that travelled down her spine when he called her that familiar endearment making her realize what a big mistake this was. This could be her ultimate moment to prove to him how over it she was, and she’d love to take it if she had any confidence that it was remotely true.

As it stood…

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Klaus. Especially after—” She broke off when he stepped closer, his eyes taking on a laser-focused intensity.

“After what?”

“You _know_ what,” she replied curtly, unable to say it out loud. If there existed a less humiliating way to remind someone of their abrupt rejection, she wasn’t aware of it. And she refused to wing it.

He finally looked away, and she studied the downward turn of his frown, trying to decipher what he was thinking despite her spectacular failure in doing so every time before.

Rolling his shoulders as if trying to shake a sudden tension, he spoke in a carefully neutral voice.

“I’m over it, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s not as if I’ve been dwelling on it for the past two years.”

Well ouch. She’d known he wasn’t one to beat around the bush, but that was particularly blunt.

“Great,” she said through a forced smile. “I’m glad we got that out of the way, then.”

He reached to take the handle of her suitcase, and stopping him somehow felt like losing when she so desperately wanted to win this perverse little battle of who could appear more unaffected.

“So we’re decided? You’ll stay with me?”

“Do I have any other choice?”

“Well if you still want to try your luck with the local Norman Bates types, far be it from me to stop you.”

“You accidentally grow a sense of humor up there in Canada, Klaus?” His responding laugh warmed something buried deep within her chest, and she followed him to the elevators, thinking the whole way that a psycho murderer would’ve been less trouble for her compared to the distracting sight of Klaus’ tight ass in those perfectly tailored dress pants.

 _Fuck_.

* * *

After spotting Klaus herding Caroline into the suite with a rushed goodbye, Marcel at least waited until they had their drinks in front of them before shooting him an expectant look.

“So you gonna explain what that was all about?”

Klaus shrugged. “It’s nothing. Her reservation got messed up, so I’m just doing her a favor.” His friend raised a skeptical brow.

“You’re saying you’ve finally got the girl you’ve been mooning over for more than two years up in your room, and it isn’t exactly what it looks like? Really, man?”

Swallowing down more than a burning mouthful of his drink, Klaus let out a dismissive scoff.

“I’ve never mooned over her, christ.” Marcel shook his head with amused disbelief, letting loose a few knowing chuckles.

“You used to never let the team go to any other bar than that dive she used to work at, and ever since we’ve been up in Calgary I’m always seeing at least one magazine or paper that just happens to be open to her byline laying around your place. God, if you’re trying to play it cool, be a little more subtle.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes, waiting for his teammate to raise his glass before dropping his own bombshell.

“Like showing up unannounced at a hotel room my sister was supposed to be staying at?”

Marcel’s fumbling was especially gratifying to watch after the annoying truths he’d just made Klaus face. So he waited patiently, his smile growing the more flustered his usually unflappable friend became.

“It’s not like that,” he finally choked out. “I just wanted to catch up. We’re old friends is all.” This time it was Klaus’ turn to roll his eyes at that unconvincing lie, but he didn’t press further. The fewer details he knew of his sister’s antics, the better they’d all be.

Marcel obviously didn’t have the same compunction, because he continued to pester him about Caroline.

“Are you seriously telling me you’re over her? You’ve been obsessing for two years! You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, you know.” Klaus let out a pained groan.

“Dear god, if I tell you why will you stop with the Gretzky quotes?” He managed a reluctant laugh at Marcel’s purposefully noncommittal shrug, but the amusement soon died off as he thought about the reason it hadn’t worked out last time.

He swallowed hard, clearing his throat for the embarrassing admission.

“You, uh, remember that profile they did of me in Sports Illustrated awhile back?” The slight grimace on Marcel’s face was answer enough, and the memory of having his life story published in black and white for the world to pick apart wouldn’t have been so awful if so much of it hadn’t been true. Knowing intimate details of his less than idyllic childhood and estranged relationship with a number of his family members were a matter of public record made his gut churn uncomfortably even after all this time.

“Yeah, well, there were quotes in there from some anonymous source about things I’d only ever told her.”

Klaus watched as the teasing glint from Marcel’s eyes dimmed when he slouched back against the opposite side of the booth.

“Shit, man. I’m sorry.” He waved him off before taking another punishing swallow of his scotch.

“No one’s fault but mine. I knew she was working on that journalism degree. When she ended up working there after graduation, seemed pretty self-explanatory to me.” He focused his gaze on the remaining amber liquid in his glass, and let out a long sigh. “Should’ve made sure we were speaking off the record,” he said in an attempt at self-deprecation, but ended up just sounding bitter.

Marcel let out a heavy breath at the revelation, but there was something in his expression that seemed confused.

“I don’t know… Are you sure it was her? I mean, I know I gave you a hard time about acting like a fool around her, but I remember all the time we spent at that bar, too. She was clearly into you.”

Even if that were true, it only made the situation worse. It was easier to think she’d just been flirting with him for the inside track. He could respect what she’d been trying to achieve, however underhanded the tactics. He played professional hockey, for god’s sake. Who would understand that better than him?

If, however, she had felt the same way… He fought down the lump forming in his throat, the idea too improbable and fraught with so many lost possibilities.

“Yeah, it was just for a different reason than I thought.” He lifted his hand to call over the waiter. “This next round is definitely on you, by the way.”

Marcel gave him hell for it, of course, which was fair since talks about his upcoming free agency prospects were going well, but he went along with the good-natured bickering. It kept his mind occupied with something other than the distracting blonde upstairs in his room. For the moment, anyways.

* * *

Caroline stood still as the water ran over her, content to let the spray hit her back in rhythmic bursts. Her mind was filled with Klaus and the memories of that time in her life when she was so full of overconfident, foolish hope. It was the only explanation for why she’d thought he was ever actually interested in her beyond a casual flirtation. It made sense to keep the bartender at his team’s regular haunt happy, and it must’ve been a much easier job than he’d anticipated since she’d been very happy with merely his attention. There were so many times she probably should have kicked them out for good, but she’d enjoyed Klaus’ flirty cajoling too much to ever follow through with it.

The fact that they’d only ever hung out at the bar when the team was celebrating, wallowing, or just blowing off some steam should’ve been an obvious sign he didn’t want anything more. She’d been convenient, that’s all.

When one absence from his team’s visits turned into several, and stretched into weeks of complete radio silence, she’d gotten the message loud and clear. He obviously regretted making out with her in the back and had no intention of calling her for that dinner. Had the kiss really been that bad for him? If he planned to blow her off, she’d have thought it would’ve at least been after sex.

Apparently he’d gotten all he needed to know with that brief encounter, because until an hour ago down in the lobby, she hadn’t heard one word from him in two years.

If any good came of it, his rejection had made it easier to take her job in New York. It was a good position, and being at least on the same coast as her mom had made it seem like a no-brainer until that kiss. Caroline couldn’t help but wonder what she would’ve done if he’d actually called. She might’ve stayed in L.A. and taken that writing gig. Hah. So stupid.

He’d obviously been traded sometime in the past two years, so it wouldn’t have even mattered. They would’ve had a few months, a year tops, of hot long distance skype dates. A lot of crazy peel-you-off-the-ceiling reunion sex. With a professional athlete… whose literal job it was to have insane amounts of stamina…

The images flooding her brain were making her uncomfortably hot, and she reached for the knob to turn down the temperature when she was plunged into complete darkness.

She let out a panicked shriek, grabbing blindly for the handle on the shower door.

“Shit!”

Sliding it open just enough to stick her head out to try and see anything, she let out another surprised yelp when the bathroom door slammed open, light spilling in from the room just before the ones overhead flickered back on.

Only to perfectly illuminate the figure she’d been fantasizing about literally ten seconds ago.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Klaus asked in a rush, sounding out of breath as if he’d sprinted the second she yelled out. Minute details she didn’t care about or notice when all that stood between them was a piece of glass that was quickly losing its shielding steam with all the heat escaping the room.

If he didn’t leave in the next five seconds he was going to get quite the eyeful, which was why she sounded a little shrill to even her own ears.

“What the hell are you doing! Get out! Get out!”

He threw up his hands in frustration. “You were screaming bloody murder! I thought you fell, or were hurt!”

Caroline couldn’t argue with his assumption after the bloodcurdling scream she’d let out, which she could later acknowledge was what she’d hope anyone in earshot would’ve done, but her brain wasn’t quite working on logic at the moment.

She grit her teeth, trying to grab her towel without leaning any further out of the shower.

“Klaus, I swear to god if you don’t turn around and get out I’m seriously going to murder you.”

For one brief moment he actually looked bewildered at her hostile reaction until the sight of her failing attempts to reach for her towel finally clicked in his idiotic brain. His gaze wandered toward the quickly clearing glass, and she was about to do him considerable physical harm when he seemed to shake himself out of it.

“Oh, right. Sorry, I’ll just—” He gestured weakly at the towel rack. “Do you want me to—?”

“Just get out!”

He hastily complied, only pausing for a moment to make sure the (obviously flimsy) lock was pressed in before ducking out. If she weren’t so keyed up on adrenaline, she would’ve found the gesture funny. It was a bit like locking the gates after the horses had bolted, after all.

She knew he wouldn’t come back in, but that didn’t stop her from drying off and throwing her clothes on in record time.

Caroline poked her head out of the bathroom, eyeing both directions of the short hallway before cautiously creeping out. She heard the TV on in the room and presumably Klaus clicking through the channels, but obviously she couldn’t take anything for granted. Clutching the belt of her robe tighter, she made her way slowly towards the living area.

The pajamas she’d brought weren’t anything anyone would categorize as sexy or revealing, but somehow Klaus occupying such close quarters made her feel practically naked. She could be wearing a hazmat suit and still feel exposed. Shaking off that pathetic train of thought, she straightened her spine and prepared herself to act as if nothing had happened. Brazening it out was her only option when the alternative was to acknowledge that she’d given Klaus more than a passing glance of parts of her body only she and her esthetician were privy to.

It was a solid plan of action. But one that flew straight out the window when she saw Klaus lounging on the couch.

Shirtless.

He looked up when she entered, and only later would Caroline agonize over what her expression must have revealed to provoke the grin that broke out on his face.

Snapping out of the dazed spell his ridiculous abs put her in for a moment, she shot him the extremely displeased scowl she usually reserved for the more incompetent interns at work.

“Seriously? This isn’t the locker room, asshole. Put a shirt on.”

Apparently the intimidating tone she used to put the fear of god into scatterbrained twenty-year-olds didn’t work on egotistical professional hockey players. Go figure.

“If this were the locker room, love, you’d be getting more of an eyeful than this.” He gestured down his chest and her gaze helplessly followed. Not that she’d ever admit it out loud, but Klaus half naked before her really was quite the sight. One she’d never had the opportunity to see in the short time they’d known each other. The one time she came close, she’d been far more concerned with the feel of all those hard ridges than the view. An oversight her eyes were clearly making up for now.

The stronger (but clearly smaller) part of her brain stopped her just short of drooling, and she crossed her arms in frustration, trying hard to ignore the way her body suddenly felt tight and her nerves on edge.

“Look,” she began firmly, “I really appreciate you doing me this favor, but walking around half naked in our shared area is not part of the deal, okay?” He shrugged carelessly.

“I wouldn’t mind,” he countered easily, and she rolled her eyes. Hard.

“No of course you wouldn’t, you perv.”

They stood locked in a stand off, and when Klaus finally realized she wasn’t going to budge, he let out a tired sigh.

“Fine. Can you endure the disgusting sight for half an hour? It’s easier for me to ice the ribs this way.”

At his slight wince, Caroline finally noticed the bag of ice pressed to his side. She automatically rushed over, some instinctive part of her brain needing to assess and fix the source of his pain.

Before she realized what she was doing, she leaned over him on the couch, murmuring sympathetically as she took a look at the damage.

It was only when she became aware of how silent the room was that she looked up and saw Klaus’ knowing little smirk. She jumped back as if burned, letting out a low growl when he had the gall to start laughing.

“I’m going to sleep,” she snapped at him. “Have fun on the couch.”

It was hardly a good one as far as threats went, since the couch actually looked pretty comfortable, but Klaus looked suitably put out, and she made sure to position herself right in the middle of the spacious king-sized bed just to rub it in.

And if the sounds of him quietly moving around and getting ready for bed kept her up with a strange sense of longing and stole a few hours of sleep from her, she at least had all the pillows.

* * *

Klaus eyed the score with a glare, the 2-1 in favor of the other team making him unaccountably furious. Maybe it was just the fact that he wanted to show up his old team and was failing to do so, but he suspected a deeper dissatisfaction was putting him in a foul mood.

He didn’t know what made him do it, but he’d left Caroline a ticket for tonight on the nightstand before he’d crept out that morning trying not to wake her. He’d didn’t realize how much he’d wanted her to come until he’d seen the empty seat before the first face-off and his mood plummeted. Followed quickly by his game.

He shouldn’t have expected it since she had her own work to do with a number of interviews she’d had lined up leading up to the big game tomorrow, but still, he’d foolishly hoped.

Klaus tensed as Damon Salvatore skated up next to him fresh out of the penalty box.

“I’ll have you spitting chiclets by the time this is over if you try that again, Mikaelson.”

He grinned as he bent over waiting for the drop, remembering the way he’d easily dodged a dirty check and sent him crashing into the boards earlier.

“You’re welcome to try if you think you can fucking keep up.”

Whatever Damon’s response was, it was lost in the roar of the crowd as play resumed, and Klaus raced towards the action.

He’d spent his whole life channeling disappointment after disappointment into something productive, and tonight would be no exception. He hopped forward with a burst of speed to get in position for a play, and just as he slapped a pass towards the net, he noticed a familiar face sitting in the seat he’d thought was still empty.

The buzzer and his teammates' yells of celebration as the puck went in sounded as if from a distance, his gaze focused on Caroline’s excited expression as she cheered among a booing home crowd.

A heady feeling spread throughout his body, and the possibility that there was something other than disappointment that could fuel success flipped a switch inside him.

 _Game on_.

* * *

Caroline hadn’t planned to go to Klaus’ game, but when she woke up to that ticket, something in her gut twisted, prompting her to stash it in her wallet even when she told herself she probably wouldn’t make it.

She’d prevaricated until the last minute, practically running to make the second half just in time to witness the amazing goal he’d made.

It had all seemed to be going well when he scored a hat trick in the last third putting his team up for a victorious 4-2. Her excitement had lasted only a few moments, though, before he’d gotten into some kind of fight.

It was a part of the game, she knew that, but she didn’t understand what had set it off and why Klaus would risk a game misconduct. Hell, he’d been ejected by the end of it, his clear instigation and Damon not even tossing his own gloves making it a forgone conclusion.

She followed the muffled sound of voices down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the trainer’s room where she saw Klaus sitting alone. He jerked up at her soft knock.

“Caroline? What are you doing here?”

“I was loitering outside like a creep so Marcel said I could wait for you in here.” He looked perturbed at the idea of her outside alone, gathering his things in a sudden rush.

“I would’ve had a pass for you if I’d known. I assumed you’d be back at the hotel already. You shouldn’t hang around here by yourself. There’s some real bastards in this place.” She grinned despite herself, enjoying the protective sentiment from him, however unnecessary. Her mom was a sheriff, and there wasn’t much that could intimidate her at this point. Aggro professional athletes and rowdy fans didn’t even make the top ten.

“I can handle myself just fine, thank you. And I already ran into Damon, so the worst is behind me.” She’d meant it as a joke, but Klaus didn’t take it as one. His expression darkened, and she didn’t think even he realized that his grip on her elbow had tightened.

His eyes raked over her from head to toe as if looking for any evidence of an injury. Which was ironic to say the least, when he was the one that had gotten into that fight.

“What did he say to you?” he demanded roughly. “I swear, if he so much as laid a finger on you I’ll—” Caroline quickly laid a hand over his, realizing how upset he actually was.

“Whoa, calm down. What’s the matter? What happened out there?”

Something in her expression must have brought him back to reality, because he took a deep, if tense, breath.

“Nothing. Just the usual chirping that got out of hand.” She gave him a look that said she clearly wasn’t buying it, and he sighed, kneading his forehead as if it was all giving him a headache. “Come on, I’ll call a car.”

It was only the fact that they were going to the same place that made her lay off the questions, and they sat in silence the whole way back. It wasn’t until the hotel room door clicked shut behind them that she brought it back up.

“Okay, are you gonna tell me what really happened, or not?”

“Is this on the record?” he shot back snidely, making her stomach drop to the floor. When the initial dismay faded, it gave way to a shocking anger.

“Screw you, Klaus. I’m so done with your shit.” There was a hard edge to the laugh that slipped out, her disbelief that she’d allowed herself think for even a moment that things had changed making her sick of herself.

She paced over to the closet, pulling out her things to start packing. If her hands weren’t busy, she was afraid she might do something truly horrifying. Like cry.

“You know, before that night, I thought we were at least friends.” She saw him slowly turn towards her out of the corner of her eye, and steeled herself for whatever he was going to say next.

“Maybe I’m mistaken, but friends don’t betray confidences.”

Of all the things she thought he might say, that wasn’t one of them.

“What?”

He closed the distance between them, and Caroline felt her heart beating out of her chest, completely at a loss. Not a feeling one particularly wanted to have around Klaus Mikaelson.

“I just want your confession,” he continued, and now she really didn’t understand. “Just admit it to me, and we can move forward.”

“Confession about what? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

He let out a frustrated breath, and she watched him carefully for any kind of clue she was so obviously missing.

“Do you honestly not understand the position that article put me in? My family, my team—”

She held up a hand to stop him, trying to process the fact that the only thing she was sure of at the moment was that she had no idea what this was about.

“Klaus, I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never once written anything about you.”

He gave her an odd look. “I’m not talking about the articles you’ve written, I’m talking about the one you served as a source for.”

It took her a minute to wrack her brain for what he could be referring to, and when she finally landed on it, a wave of horror flooded through her.

“You think I was the anonymous source for that Sports Illustrated thing?”

“Who else? There were some things in there I only ever told you.”

Even as part of her melted a little at his admission that he’d trusted her that much, the majority of her mind was racing to try and figure out why he was laboring under this serious misapprehension.

“That wasn’t me,” she said slowly. “I had nothing to do with it. When I read it along with everyone else, I just assumed you told everyone those things.”

Caroline watched as his incredulous look turned into something else, the cold wash of realization leaving him looking a bit sick.

She couldn’t count how many times she’d wished for some kind of explanation or closure, but this didn’t feel like either. If this misunderstanding was the reason he’d never called, why he’d disappeared without a word…

Did that mean there was something real between them two years ago? Now?

Clearing her throat, she tried to mitigate her expectations. “I’ll uh, try and hunt down that source,” she offered awkwardly, “but please know, I’d never do that to—”

If he had cut her off with anything less than the kiss she’d fantasized about for two years, she might’ve been mad that she didn’t get to finish her piece. As it was, he didn’t disappoint, so she let him off this one time.

In fact, this kiss far outweighed the last one. Mainly because this one actually ended up with a plush mattress underneath her, rather than a hard wall in a dark back room that prevented them from doing what they’d really wanted.

His mouth pressed a line of kisses down her throat, punctuated with hoarse apologies of all the wasted time he’d let pass.

“It’s my fault too,” she interrupted. “I do have a confession, although not the one you thought it was.” He pulled away and she almost let out cry of protest until she realized he was undressing.

“Yes?” he prompted, his eyes never wavering from hers. “What is it?”

“I, uh…” Her brain stuttered at the sight of all his gorgeous skin that was slowly being revealed to her greedy gaze. When she trailed off, though, he stopped. Quickly grasping the fact that he wouldn’t continue if she didn’t, she almost tripped over herself trying to get the words out before she completely forgot how to speak.

“I went to go see you play before you got traded,” she admitted sheepishly. “I wanted to see you, and try and find a way to ask you why you hadn’t called, but…”

He was now completely naked, and if he thought she could speak and soak in the sight at the same time, he could think again.

After spending most of her life surrounded by athletes, Caroline didn’t think the sight of another toned body could affect her like this, but something about Klaus seemed to wake her up on a molecular level. Maybe it was due to connection they’d had from the first time he’d sat down at her bar, but she knew without a doubt that even if she’d known nothing about him, she’d still feel that clench deep in her belly when she saw the way the muscles in his throat worked, or the flex in his forearms when he clenched his fist.

“But what?” he asked, bringing her focus back to the matter at hand.

“Oh, well I waited outside for you, but when I saw so many other girls doing the same… I don’t know, I chickened out.”

He gave her a stern look, but the severity was diminished somewhat when it was accompanied with his fingers undoing her shirt buttons and pulling away her jeans.

“You were never one of those girls, sweetheart.”

She gave a jerky nod for lack of a better response to the sincerity in his eyes, finding her voice a moment later on a drawn out moan when he finally pressed deep inside her.

He lifted her wrist to his lips, placing a gentle kiss over the swallow tattoo. Her heart lurched, the gesture so unbearably sweet.

But Caroline didn’t want sweet. She wanted to finally satisfy the terrible ache she’d been harboring ever since that night at the bar when she’d gotten such a small taste of everything she’d wanted.

Craning her neck upwards, she responded in kind by tracing the outline of his tattoo with her tongue, trailing along the curve of his shoulder and finishing with a bite to his bicep.

"Ah, love," he groaned into her neck, his breath trailing off into a guttural rattle. She knew he meant it as the reflexive endearment he'd said a million times before, but hearing it as he thrust deeper inside her made something tight in her chest loosen until she heard herself crying out at every heavy glide. All the tension she wasn't even aware of holding deep in the muscles of her neck and back let out in a great rush as her mind narrowed to the sensation of Klaus fucking in and out of her.

She stared down at where their bodies joined, mesmerized at the surreal sensation of seeing and feeling exactly what was happening. The heat rose in her cheeks when she realized she'd been doing it for awhile, and she glanced up furtively at Klaus to see if he'd noticed.

He had.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that,” he warned, making her grin despite herself.

“Why not?”

“Because this will be over faster than we’d both like.”

Her laughter made her clench around him, and he gripped her hip tightly, letting out an agonized groan as he tried to keep a steady pace.

“What’s the point of all that conditioning, then?” she teased, arching up against his hold. “I thought you’d be good for at least an hour.”

A startled protest rose in her chest when he suddenly pulled out, but burned off in her throat when he flipped her onto her stomach. He clearly wasn’t messing around anymore, and a dark sense of anticipation electrified every inch of her skin as she waited for what he did next.

He pushed back in slowly, lowering his body over hers until they were lined up perfectly.

Keeping still, he let her feel every hard inch until she started pushing back restlessly. She felt his smile before she heard it in his voice.

“Sweetheart, you should know better than to taunt me.”

She let out a relieved sigh into the pillow and gripped the sheets. She was fucking ready.

* * *

Caroline woke up to the sound of the shower turning on, the sheets still warm all around her from Klaus. They’d skipped the game yesterday in favor of making up for lost time, and the loss of an incredible box seat at the biggest sporting event of the year was nothing compared to the pleasure she’d gained from those long hours in bed. She smiled secretly to herself, relishing all the sore muscles as she turned to hazard a glance at the clock. Damn, she didn’t have much time before she had to leave for the airport, and if she was operating on a countdown, she’d try to make the most of it.

If Klaus was surprised when she opened the door to the shower, he didn’t show it, only moved aside wordlessly to make space for her. She gave him a hesitant smile as she stepped in, strangely shy even after all they’d done the night before. He wasn’t pressing her to say anything, but she felt the need to explain anyways.

“I know I can’t cram in everything I want to do with you before we have to go, but I…” She swallowed hard, pushing past the sudden lump in her throat with a weak laugh. “I can’t help trying.”

She heard his breath hitch, and Caroline finally noticed his hands tightly clenched on either side of him. He looked as if he was struggling not to reach out to her, and maybe that was the smarter move. The team’s flight left in two hours and she knew there’d be hell to pay if he missed it. Which was a distinct possibility if they got carried away.

It was the responsible choice. The only one to make as two professional, rational adults.

Which she obviously wasn’t, since she couldn’t stop herself from running her palm over his collarbone and down his shoulder. She tried to grip him a little more firmly when the soap caused her hand to slip faster, and he let out a tortured groan at the feel of her nails raking down his biceps.

When his gaze met hers, Caroline knew she wasn’t the only one ready to be irresponsible.

“Fucking hell, we can multitask,” he muttered just before pulling her towards him. The bright giggling mass of laughter died swiftly on her tongue when every hard, lean, very naked line of him pressed up against her, and she barely got a proper lungful of air before his mouth was on hers.

Later, after they’d finished thoroughly testing the strength of the handrail, they both stood motionless and panting against the stone tile. Caroline was grateful for the weight of Klaus’ body keeping her upright, since she didn’t trust her knees to do the job. She was just about to ask him to turn off the water that had long since gone cold when the lights suddenly went out.

“Fuck!”

“Oh my god, I _told_ you!”

She made him get out to activate the motion detector in the dark, and between all his grumbling and her crowing, there was a profound sense that every day could start like this.

God, she’d make sure of it.


End file.
